Fude for Thought - Fude pens Review

​I will admit I have a bit of a thing for old technology. I think my lascivious desire for objet d'art seems to focus on rather traditional things like pens and watches rather than newer 'cold' technologies.

What are Fude pens?
Fude pens are normal fountain pens (I now have about 16 fountain pens!! Issues??) with bent nibs. The bend at the end of the nibs allows the user to lay down a fat band of ink rather than a thin line. One of the nice things about fude pens is the ability to use a variety of line widths on a sketch without having to change the pen your using. So if your heading out for the day and fancy taking minimal sketching gear then just a fude pen and a sketch book allows you to do a lot and pretty quickly too.

Normal fountain pens have a fixed line width with small variation. Pressing slightly to spread the tines or even using the other side of the nib will give you some variety but not a huge amount. One of the best reasons for using a fude pen is that they introduce a bit of character to a sketch. Working quickly and confidently with a fude nib definitely adds further dimension to the line quality of your work. They are also good fun to work with. If you are looking for a consistent line thickness then using a fude nib is not advised as they can be a bit messy and wayward if you are not very careful.

Can you use any paper?
A fude nib is effectively a small metal brush. If you use super smooth HP paper you will get consistent thin or thick lines. Using rough paper really varies the line character as the flat nib skips and bobbles over the hi spots in the paper. Lines become even more characterfull and jagged depending on how hard or how fast the nib is moved. My fude pen on Khardi cotton paper feels more like painting than linework, its wonderfull. With practice it can be very expressive.

Pitfalls?
Fude pens lay down a lot of ink so care has to be taken to prevent smearing. They are also pretty thirty beasts so you may need some extra ink in the field. Apart from the above points they have all the usually benefits or drawbacks of a fountain pen.

Which pen should I buy to try?
If your buying something as an experiment and can't borrow one from a friend then you really don't want too much skin in the game. For around £15 quid here are a couple of pens that are available. 

Duke Fude - There are many Duke pens with Fude nibs and (as far as I know) they all have similar nibs. These are far better than the Sailor nibs as the are not super pointy and scratch the paper. The end of the nib has a small bulb on it so that that when using the nib upright or upside down you get a thin but smooth and consistent line, even on rough and soft paper. The thick side of the nib although not quite as wide as the Sailor is almost as wide and far smoother. 

This pen is easy to use and a brilliant introduction to the world of fude pens.

Sailor Fountain Pen Profit 
The nib is very sharp so the thin line can actually scratch the paper. The fat side of the nib give a very broad pleasing slab of colour. It's a bit of an animal to use and unless you have experiance with these pens I would'nt bother.

Well I hope someone found this useful. Enjoy your art!